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Tag: Drink Driving

  • NZ Student Dies in Car Crash fuelled by “Lethal” dose of Alcohol

    It seems that not a day passes when we don’t hear about the consequences of drink driving in the media in the form of a car crash somewhere in the world. Sadly despite the media being so rife with these “warnings” people are still risking the lives and the lives of other innocent road-users by engaging in the dangerous, irresponsible and reckless act of drink driving.

    Unfortunately drink driving isn’t the only risky behaviour, it seems that pedestrians who are intoxicated are also being run over by vehicles more often. Obviously excessive amounts of alcohol is never good but particularly so when you’re going to be out on the street, whether driving or walking, your cognitive and motor functions are impaired and that places you at risk.

    The latest tragedy involves a university student who coroners say had consumed lethal amounts of alcohol before he was hit by a car and killed.

    The young man, Geoffrey Nicholas Peren was a 20 year old Victoria University student who was hit by a car while crossing a street in central Wellington in June 2011.

    According to the coroner Mr Peren had been to a party the night before and had consumed a large amount of spirits before he left without telling anyone where he was going.

    The young man contacted his girlfriend at 10pm that night in a disorientated state, thinking that he was in Dunedin. While on the phone with his girlfriend he was hit by a car and his girlfriend heard a loud bang and Mr Peren did not say anything further. His girlfriend then ended the call.

    The young man was wearing dark clothing and crossing against the pedestrian signal when he was hit by a car being driven by a woman.

    Tragically the man suffered serious injuries to the head and died in hospital. The blood alcohol test showed Mr Peren had a level of 305 milligrams per litre of blood. The coroner explained this amount of alcohol is “clinical extreme” and potentially lethal. It also reinforces why Responsible Service of Alcohol is so important, so that we do not see more cases of this nature occurring every time a patron leaves a bar or pub.

    Most workers in the alcohol service industry are aware of the need to undergo responsible service of alcohol training however RSA training should not be looked at as just a mandatory requirement that employers force you to undergo because then you will not have incentive to enforce it (other than the legal one).

    People should look at RSA training as a service to society. Staff of licensed venues who undergo responsible service of alcohol training and enforce the rules learnt are contributing to a better society and helping people who would otherwise be put in harm’s way, risking their own health and safety and that of others.

    Servers of alcohol who perform their duties according to RSA regulations provide a duty of care that also promotes job satisfaction. Workers who are serving customers responsibly and performing their duty are happier employees and so are more productive.

     

  • Road Safety Campaign aimed at Young Drivers Launched

    Young drivers are often the ones who fall victim to road crashes linked to alcohol. Now in an effort to tackle this problematic issue among the youth, Insurer AAMI and Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) have joined forces to implement a new road safety campaign aimed at young drivers.

    There is an increasing body of research that shows underage drinking as the leading cause of deaths in teenagers. Causes of teen alcohol related deaths range from drink driving, suicides and homicides related to drinking but drink driving is one of the greatest factors.

    The cleverly named P.A.R.T.Y Program aims to bring high school students into the hospital to see trauma patients first hand in an effort to shock them into doing the right thing. (P.A.R.T.Y stands for Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth). The group hopes that young people will begin to better understand the consequences of drink driving, drug driving as well as distracted driving if they see it first-hand rather than just being told of the dangers.

    According to statistics provided by AAMI, 15 per cent of young people between 15 and 25 years of age who came to NSW hospitals for treatment were there as a result of severe traumatic injuries.

    Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that over the last 5 years, 1638 young people in the same age group died as a result of road trauma without even making it to the hospital for treatment.

    A post on www.themotorreport.com.au explains more about the initiative:

    According to AAMI research, 54 percent young drivers in NSW admit to exceeding the speed limit by 10km/h or more “some of the time”; while 13 percent admit to exceeding the speed limit “at least half the time”.

    More than half admitted to sending or reading text messages while driving and 31 percent had used a phone or tablet to read emails while on the move. An alarming 90 percent said they had updated their Facebook status while driving.

    And it’s not just mobile phones and speeding that are concerning the insurer: 10 percent of young drivers admit to having driven with too many passengers in the car while 11 percent admitted to ‘making out’ while driving.

    Source: http://www.themotorreport.com.au/57384/aami-and-royal-north-shore-hospital-launch-party-road-safety-campaign

    The post also explains that students will be given time to spend with the staff from various departments in the hospital from the emergency ward, intensive care, burns unit, spinal, neurological and rehabilitation wards because these are the wards that deal with victims of road crashes and other alcohol induced mishaps.

    According to a doctor at the hospital, by exposing young people to the consequences of drink driving, it is hoped their perceptions will change and will hopefully result in more responsible behaviour.

    The post goes on to explain:

    Head of Trauma at RNSH, Dr Tony Joseph, said the students will spend time with staff from the emergency, intensive care, burns, spinal, neurosurgical and rehabilitation wards who deal with the impact of trauma on young lives.

    “By exposing them to the traumatic consequences of risk-related behaviour, we hope to change their perceptions and have a positive impact on the choices they make in the future,” Dr Joseph said.

    Source: http://www.themotorreport.com.au/57384/aami-and-royal-north-shore-hospital-launch-party-road-safety-campaign

    A similar program was carried out at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and of the students who participated, 70 per cent expressed the positive impact that the program had had on them, hopefully the NSW program will be equally successful.

     

     

  • Policewoman Caught Over the Alcohol Limit: Why Alcohol and Driving Should Never Mix

    No matter what your vocation, drink driving is unacceptable and illegal as one Queensland policewoman has discovered. No one is above the law, even those tasked with enforcing it.

    A Queensland police woman recently crashed her car and as is mandatory, was issued a breathalyser which tested positive for alcohol. Not only was she drink driving she was also well over the legal limit when the crash occurred.

    The 38 year old woman was involved in a crash while recording a reading of 0.198, hers was the only vehicle involved in the accident, a testament to her intoxication.

    In addition to appearing before the Petrie Magistrates Court, the officer may also face internal disciplinary action. The following excerpt was taken from an article on Yahoo News about the incident:

    A Queensland policewoman has tested positive for drink driving after crashing her car.

    The sergeant from the State Crime Command has been given a notice to appear for drink driving while off duty in a private vehicle.

    The 38-year-old recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.198 per cent after she was involved in a single-vehicle crash at Murrumba Downs, north of Brisbane on Monday.

    Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19195082/qld-policewoman-above-the-alcohol-limit/

    It seems across all states drink driving is a huge problem but there is another issue which may actually be surpassing that of drink-driving, that is drug driving.  According to another post on Smh.com.au, more drivers in NSW tested positive for driving under the influence of drugs than alcohol during a police blitz recently.

    Over a weekend blitz in NSW, which involved 3 separate traffic operations, 5 times more random tests were issued for alcohol than drugs but there were still more people caught for drug driving than driving under the influence of alcohol.

    The following excerpt taken from the Smh.com.au post explains,

    The operations, at Cabramatta in Sydney’s south-west as well as Lake Illawarra and Shoalhaven both south of Sydney, detected 14 drivers allegedly under the influence of drugs out of the 735 tested.

    At the same time eight drivers were allegedly over the legal blood alcohol limit from the 3824 tested.

    “This is a concern that more people are taking the risk of being under the influence of an illicit drug before getting behind the wheel,” Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said.

    “However the weekends operations were just a small sample of drivers.”

    Eight drivers were detected allegedly under the influence of drugs out of the 202 tested by police at Lake Illawarra, four at Cabramatta and two in the Shoalhaven.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/drug-offences-overtake-alcohol-for-weekend-drivers-20130930-2unpd.html#ixzz2gbLxmF6z

    In Lake Illawarra and Cabramatta only 4 people were caught for drink-driving and in Shoalhaven no one tested positive for alcohol despite the fact that 1454 breathalyser tests were issued. Although the improvement in drink driving is good, the number of people seemingly replacing alcohol consumption with drugs is extremely alarming.

    Motorists have been warned that police will continue to be on the lookout for both drink and drug driving perpetrators.

     

  • Centre for Safety Research says Cars should have Alcohol Locking Devices Fitted

    According to South Australian experts, all cars should be fitted with alcohol testing ignition blocks. These experts claim that this move would almost eliminate drink driving within a decade, ultimately saving many lives and millions of dollars.

    According to a new report by The Centre for Automotive Safety Research in South Australia, authorities should consider fitting permanent alcohol interlock devices to the vehicles of repeat drink drivers as soon as possible. This would bring South Australian drink driving laws in line with other states which have already introduced mandatory interlock devices for repeat drink driving offenders.

    According to one of the authors of the report, Trevor Bailey who spoke to The Advertiser, “the new touchpad technology could be introduced to all vehicles to save lives”.  He went on to explain:

    He said if the “quick, accurate, reliable, unobtrusive and cheap” touchpad technology – which measures alcohol in perspiration – was fitted to all vehicles “then drink driving could be almost eliminated within 10 years”.

    “If an illegal concentration of alcohol is detected, then the vehicle will not start,” he said.

    “If the community were to support such testing on a widespread basis as a normal pre-driving check, as well as continuing existing interlock programs for offenders, then drivers with illegal alcohol levels will be prevented from entering the road system rather than being detected while on the road.”

    Mr Bailey said touchpad technology could be made a standard safety requirement for new cars and also rolled out to existing vehicles.

    Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/centre-for-automotive-safety-research-report-urges-fitting-of-alcohol-locking-devices-to-the-vehicles-of-repeat-drink-drivers/story-fnii5yv4-1226758593549

    At the moment mandatory breathalyser devices are already being installed to cars of drivers caught with a blood alcohol reading of 0.15 per cent or higher or where a repeat offence is committed where the reading registers more than 0.08.

    The researchers discovered that this may not be sufficiently safe because once people had their interlock devices removed, the risks of reoffending also returned.

    And as the researchers explained, the minority of repeat offenders who do not seem capable of changing their behaviour may need to have the mandatory interlock device fitted as the only way for them to maintain the right to drive.

    Figures seem to support the researcher’s claims. Currently it seems increasing numbers of drivers are being forced to fit an interlock device.

    SA figures indicated that more than 2700 drink drivers have been caught 3 or more times in the past decade while an even worse group of about 42 drivers had been caught 6 six times. The worst group of drivers of about 16 drivers were caught 7 times or more over the limit.

    The alcohol interlock device works in a way that makes it compulsory for drivers to blow into the device before turning on the car’s ignition. The device then measures the breath alcohol level and if over the limit will prevent the car’s engine from starting.

     

     

  • Driving under the influence facts and stats

    [media url=”tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iGgRVl-WFE&feature=player_embedded” width=”600″ height=”300″ jwplayer=”autostart=true”]

    Source: https://www.serenitygroup.com/driving-under-the-influence-facts-and-stats

  • Police Investigate Perth Crashes

    A serious road crash in Perth recently has been linked to alcohol according to police.

    According to reports the driver’s vehicle left the road and capsized after he failed to negotiate a roundabout, possibly due to intoxication. He then hit into a parked car, a fence and power pole.

    This article on Yahoo News explains:

    Police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in crashes in Perth’s east last night.

    About 11.58 pm, police were called to Wanaping Road in Kenwick where a 29-year-old Parkwood man had crashed his vehicle.

    It is believed that the man’s vehicle left the road and overturned after he failed to negotiate a roundabout.

    The man’s car proceeded to strike a parked car, a fence and a power pole.

    Police conducted a breath test on the man but the results are not yet known.

    Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/17617698/police-probe-alcohol-as-factor-in-crashes/

    A second accident on the same night occurred when a man’s vehicle left the road and crashed into the bushes. Breathalyser tests revealed that the man was intoxicated at the time. He was charged with drink driving.

    The article went on to state:

    In a separate incident in Bayswater, a Hyundai Elantra sedan also left the road and crashed into bushes on Wyatt Road and Higgins Way.

    Police were called to the crash around 4am and breathalysed a 55-year-old man.

    After failing the test, the male was charged with drink driving.

    Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/17617698/police-probe-alcohol-as-factor-in-crashes/

    One of the greatest road safety issues in Oz at the moment is the number of crashes being caused by drink driving.

    Most people enjoy a little drink from time to time and there is nothing wrong with this in fact even doctors recommend a glass of wine a day for good heart health.

    The problem comes in when people drink and behave irresponsibly, such as drinking and driving (when their blood alcohol level is above 0.05). Most people don’t realise that they are over the legal limit when they get behind the wheel after a drink or two. As a drinker you either need to know how much alcohol is contained in the drinks you consume to ensure you are not exceeding the limit or an even better idea would be to avoid driving altogether.

    People who drink and drive need to remember that alcohol, even in small quantities can have an effect on your driving.

    Alcohol doesn’t get digested like food but rather gets absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine as well as the stomach and colon. The blood transports the alcohol to your vital organs including the heart and brain – both of which are vital in the process of driving. These organs coordinate our activities and ability to drive.

    Some of the effects of alcohol on our driving abilities include:

    • Our perception is affected. People who drink are less likely to observe traffic signs, bikers, pedestrians or cars coming from the opposite side;
    • Drinkers have less control over their reactions in traffic situations; your eyes are slower and need to concentrate on the same object for a longer period of time than you would ordinarily.
    • When we drink our space perspective narrows and we tend to focus more to the front of us rather than looking to the left and right
    • Reaction times also increase as our reflexes become slower or diminish depending on how drunk we are. That means in an emergency stop situation or traffic it would take more time to respond fast and adapt accordingly.

    Drivers who drink before driving tend to be overconfident about their abilities and are less capable of good judgement. Often drinking also makes people drowsy which is probably what contributes to so many crashes where the drivers drove off the road and crashed into stationery objects such as fences, streets, poles etc. like in the 2 incidents mentioned earlier.

     

  • Responsible Service of Alcohol News: Police Sergeant Caught Drink Driving

    What happens when those meant to enforce the law are actually the ones breaking it?

    This is the question many Aussies on the Gold Coast are asking themselves following an incident this week.

    A crash involving an off-duty police sergeant shocked many people not because of the nature of the crash but because the police sergeant was apparently over the legal blood alcohol limit at the time. The policeman recorded a reading of 0.064, the legal limit is 0.05.

    The sergeant from the South Eastern Region has been given notice to appear for drink driving in Southport Magistrates Court in June.

    The crash occurred in the early hours of the morning and involved 2 other vehicles in addition to the one the sergeant was driving.

    Read what happened according to an article on TheAustralian.com.au

    Off-duty police sergeant allegedly recorded blood alcohol reading of .064 per cent after Gold Coast accident

    AN off-duty policeman has been caught drink driving on the Gold Coast this morning.

    A 53-year-old sergeant from the South Eastern Region has been given a notice to appear for drink driving after he was involved in a three-car crash at Helensvale on the Gold Coast about 5.30am.

    The officer was breath tested and subsequently charged with drink-driving after recording a blood alcohol reading of 0.064 per cent.

    He will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on June 19.

    Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/off-duty-police-sergeant-allegedly-recorded-blood-alcohol-reading-of-064-per-cent-after-gold-coast-accident/story-e6frg6n6-1226647838816

    Drink driving is always a risk because even if you aren’t involved in a crash, there is a chance that police may randomly stop you and ask you to take a breath test, which they are legally allowed to do at any time. However if a crash does occur, even if you are not the cause, you will most likely be blamed and will face other consequences – if you are lucky enough to survive.

    Although many people may feel 100 per cent fine after drinking and may believe that they can safely get behind the wheel of a car, science proves that alcohol alters our ability to drive or operate any machinery safely.Alcohol has been identified as the leading cause of car crashes in Oz and according to research drivers who tested over the limit doubled their chances of causing a crash, you would expect a member of the police force to be more aware of this than anyone.

    Many drivers arrange for transport home after a night of binge drinking but forget that alcohol stays in your body a long time and in fact it takes your body much longer to get rid of the alcohol than it does to absorb it. Therefore if you indulge in a heavy night of drinking and then drive chances are alcohol will still be present in your body and will affect your driving ability the next morning, as is likely what happened with the police sergeant.

    There is no need to stop drinking, alcohol in itself is not to blame for the alcohol fuelled issues we are experiencing such as violence and drink driving crashes. Alcohol is an excellent social lubricant and may even have some health benefits when consumed in moderation. The problem is when people drink irresponsibly and engage in dangerous behaviour such as binge drinking, underage drinking and drink driving.

     

  • America Urged to Cut Limit on Alcohol for Drivers

    A debate is raging in The United States about whether or not to lower the legal alcohol limit for drivers following a surge in road deaths caused by drink driving.

    According to an article on The New York Times website, thousands of people are killed on American roads each year by car crashes caused by drivers who have been drinking but have not reached the legal alcohol limit. Therefore these drivers are not actually “drink driving” because they are acting within the law, yet lives are still being lost.

    The National Transportation Safety Board said that it recommended states reduce the allowance blood-alcohol concentration by more than one third. It is currently 0.08 per cent BAC whereas it has been suggested that the USA drop this to 0.05, this is more in line with standards around the world, including in Oz.

    According to the group, the current standard is outdated, it was established over a decade ago and at present around 10,000 fatalities are happening on USA’s roads each year.

    Read what the article on NYTimes.com went on to discuss about the issue:

    “There are at least 10,000 reasons to tackle this issue,” said Deborah A. P. Hersman, the chairwoman of the board. Foreign countries with stricter standards have had substantially more success, according to the board.

    The board voted for a variety of recommendations. Some, like requiring that everyone convicted of drunken driving be required to install a Breathalyzer interlock in their car, which would prevent the vehicle from starting without an alcohol test, were focused on heavy drinkers and repeat offenders.

    Officials said they hoped that a stricter standard would reduce drinking and driving both among social drinkers and among heavy drinkers.

    Blood-alcohol concentration varies by body weight, gender, stomach contents and other factors, but generally speaking, a 180-pound man could consume four beers or glasses of wine in 90 minutes without reaching the current limit. At a limit of 0.05 percent, he could legally consume only three. A 130-pound woman could probably consume three drinks in 90 minutes and be legal under the existing standard; if the limit were lowered, she could consume only two.

    Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/us/legal-limit-drunken-driving-safety-board.html?_r=0

    However not everyone thinks reducing the BAC limit for drivers is such a good idea. Members of the American Beverage Institute have criticised it for failing to address the real problem, drunk drivers not drivers who are responsible by sticking to the limit. The post goes on to explain:

    The blood-alcohol recommendation faces opposition. Sarah Longwell, the managing director at the American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade association, called the idea “ludicrous.”

    “Moving from 0.08 to 0.05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior,” she said. And “further restriction of moderate consumption of alcohol by responsible adults prior to driving does nothing to stop hard-core drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.”

    Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/us/legal-limit-drunken-driving-safety-board.html?_r=0

    But government statistics have apparently been provided which show that people with a blood-alcohol level of 0.05 percent are 38 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than those who have not been drinking while people with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent are 169 percent more likely.

    Most American states only switched to a BAC of 0.08 in the year 2000 when Bill Clinton signed a law which withheld highway construction money from states that did not do so but the rest of the world agrees that 0.05 BAC is the acceptable limit and some countries like South Africa are even considering lowering it even further after a number of alcohol induced crashes.

     

  • Responsible Service of Alcohol News: Man Three Times over the Limit Involved in Crash

    A man more than 3 times over the legal alcohol limit was involved in a crash in Hervey Bay, last week.

    The man crashed his car while driving over the limit on Wednesday night.

    The man was trapped in the car which flipped and landed on its side. The man was treated at Hervey Bay hospital and then taken to a police station for a breathalyser test which returned a reading of over 0.150, the legal limit is 0.05.

    The man will have to appear in court over the incident but is lucky to be alive.

    FraserCoastChronicle.com.au reported this on the story:

    A MAN will have to face court after allegedly returning a blood alcohol reading more than triple the legal limit after crashing his car on Main St at Ghost Hill on Wednesday night.

    A Hervey Bay police spokesman said officers, who went to the crash about 8.30pm, found the driver trapped in the vehicle which was on its side.

    The man was freed from the vehicle and transported to Hervey Bay Hospital for treatment for injuries.

    After this, the man was taken to the police station for a breath test, the spokesman said.

    Even with the amount of time that had passed at the hospital, the man’s alcohol reading was alleged to still be over 0.150, the high alcohol limit.

    The man was given a notice to appear in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court, the spokesman said.

    Source: http://www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/news/man-appear-court-drink-driving-after-car-crash/1870577/

    It is sad to think that people not only have no respect for their own lives but endanger the lives of other road users as well by getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.

    This driver was lucky to escape with his life but he is also extremely lucky to have not involved anyone else in the crash or the consequences could have been much more severe for him and an innocent life (or lives) may have been lost.

    Impaired vision, slowed reaction times, the inability to keep straight on the road or within one’s own lane are just some of the consequences of drink driving, anyone of which or a combination of which can lead to serious and possibly fatal crashes.

    Alcohol also has the ability to make a driver feel relaxed which may cause them to fall asleep at the wheel. A number of people have caused serious crashes in this manner and this may have been what caused this crash in Hervey Bay.

    Alcohol also gives people a false sense of confidence which results in increased risk taking behaviour which while driving can involve speeding, dangerous manoeuvres, running stop signs etc.

    If you are going to go out and drink please do the responsible thing and call a friend or taxi for a lift home.

    Bartenders and anyone serving alcohol should try to stop anyone who is inebriated from driving. Although this may seem like a difficult task to accomplish especially on a busy night in a crowded bar, try to keep somewhat of a record of how many drinks you serve any particular person. Encourage patrons to call for a lift home or do it for them. Also promote responsible drinking by limiting the amount of alcohol you serve to any one patron.

     

  • Drink Driving Leads to Crash in Milton

    According to Roads Transport and Maritime Services NSW, drink driving is a factor in about one in every five crashes in NSW where someone loses their life. Of the drink drivers who are killed, 97 per cent are men and 64 per cent are under the age of 40.

    The consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol have once again been demonstrated by an incident that took place in Milton last month. A man driving while intoxicated has been charged after causing a crash on the Princes Highway.

    The middle aged man was charged after being found with an alcohol reading of point 060. This type of behaviour is however not uncommon, another driver in Ulladulla has been found driving almost 2 times over the legal limit.

    Powerfm.com.au reports:

    A man has been charged with drink driving after a crash in Milton last month.

    The crash happened about 8PM on Sunday April 21 at the intersection of the Princes Highway and Matron Porter Drive.

    A 49 year old Morton man who was driving a Flacon Ute has been charged with drink driving after returning a blood alcohol reading of point 060.

    He has been ordered to appear in Milton Court next month.

    Meantime a 58 year old Ulladulla man has been charged with drink driving after returning a reading more than twice the limit.

    He was stopped in Petty’s Ave Ulladulla.

    Source: http://www.powerfm.com.au/nowra/index.php/news/36921-drink-drive-charge-after-crash

    One of the most important issues to remember is that you don’t have to be drunk to be affected by alcohol. You might feel normal but no one drives as well as they should after drinking alcohol. Also Roads Transport and Maritime Services NSW reminds road users that novice drivers in particular should not drink before driving, even though the legal limit is 0.05, learner drivers should refrain from alcohol altogether because they are at a much higher risk of crashing than more experienced drivers. It is for this reason that learner and provisional licence holders are restricted to a zero alcohol limit.

    Another misconception is that by drinking coffee, eating a meal or apples you can bring down your alcohol level. Sobering up takes time and no amount of coffee, food, physical activity or sleep will speed up the process. Police will take any excuses if your blood alcohol level is over the limit.

    In NSW, police have the power to stop drivers at random to test for alcohol and subsequently arrest drivers who have an illegal blood alcohol level. They may also arrest drivers they believe are impaired by drugs including alcohol and conduct a blood and urine test. Police may require a driver to undergo a sobriety test in certain circumstances. Do not think that you can get away with drink driving, last year NSW police conducted millions of breath tests (around 4.5 million).

    The Random Breath Test has been highly successful in deterring drink driving and stopping accidents since its inception in 1982. According to statistics provided by The Roads Transport and Maritime Services fatal crashes involving alcohol have dropped from around 40 per cent of all fatalities to the current level of 19 per cent since breath testing has been introduced.